T h r ! l l e r
by Amestris-Exile
Summary: What happens when the things that go bump in the night start coming out to play in the sun? In-progress, minor content in later chapters. rated T for language.
1. Demon's Dreaming

The street glowed an ominous yellow, each shadow dramatized like a bad horror movie underneath the artificial light of the streetlamps. Even through the dim light, his eyes saw all: the passing of a cat underneath a car about a hundred feet away, two rats scampering around near the gutter, someone stamping around their house in the cul-de-sac. A light smirk played on his jowls, long white fangs glimmering in the pale light beneath the dark skin that once hid them.

There were others in the area; some like him, some not. A few reeked of feline, an acrid, foul stench that burned his nose. Several smelled of average human, but their auras were so powerful he could feel them radiating from several hundred yards away. These human-like ones were the most in number: there seemed to be more than ten of them in the immediate vicinity, their auras pressing against his mind like brick walls until he could barely think. He had to move, find some way to get them out of his head.

Without really thinking it through he lurched forward, all four paws barely touching concrete as he loped down the pavement at top speed. The wind whistled through his fur like a ghost, ticking his nerves and sending shivers of excitement through his body. There was something exhilarating about running in his true form through areas like this; it was dangerous, but that was what turned him on the most. It made him feel free, like he was a true free being and none of these mundane creatures living in their little brick boxes could tell him otherwise.

He could hear the calls of his brethren form the safety of the trees on the other side of the cul-de-sac, telling him it was suicide and that he needed to get his ass back in the woods, but he drowned them out. This feeling was better than any drug could ever give him, a high that seemed to seep its way through his system from his bones to his fur. He threw his head back and let out a baying howl, his voice so loud it seemed to shake the moon and every window on the block.

A light popping on in a window of a house about twenty feet ahead caught the lycan's attention and the warning bells began ringing in the back of his still flying mind, natural instinct telling him to run and hide in the safety of the trees. Deciding that it would be best to not get spotted and endanger his whole pack for his own selfish needs he darted sideways, leaping over a fence with ease into the dense cover of the trees. A snarl came from his right, followed by a vicious slap of claws to his right shoulder. He let out a yelp of pain, but didn't retaliate. He did deserve it. That was stupid. Stupid, but so worth it.

"San… Nee-san… Nata-neesan… HINATA!"

Her eyes snapped open, wide and shocked as they stared up at the blank spackling of the ceiling. Her breaths were short and raspy, chest heaving as she forced herself to calm down. That had been some dream. She could still feel the tingles of excitement coursing through her body that she had felt in her dream. That was one intense dream. And yet, in the pit of her stomach, she felt like it wasn't just her head. She couldn't help but feel like it was real, like she had really just sprouted a brindle coat and a wolf form. Whoa. Weird.

She turned to look at her younger sister, who was standing over her with her arms crossed and her small face pinched up in a look of indignance. "Sorry, Hanabi," she said, a bit sheepish as she chuckled. "I guess I was having a bit of a weird dream."

The younger girl sniffed. "Some dream," she retorted, turning on her heel. "I was sound asleep before you started scratching at your wall like you were running from the Devil."

Hinata looked at her wall, and sure enough, there were a few indentations in the slate blue paint. She'd have to fix those the next day before her father saw them. Otherwise, he was liable to shit a chicken. She turned back to Hanabi, giving her a sympathetic smile. "I'll try to restrain my subconscious from now on."

Hanabi let out a haughty huff before exiting the room, muttering something about leg restraints as she slammed the door. The elder Hyuuga girl turned to lie on her back, wiping off the thin film of sweat that had built up on her brow during her feverish sleeping fit. She still couldn't shake the feeling of how real that dream had felt. Oh well. It was normal to have dreams that were freakily realistic, right? Those things happened. She was just overanalyzing.

Turning her head she groaned as her eyes met her alarm clock: it was 1:34 in the morning, way too early to be analyzing dreams. She'd have to ask that Shikamaru boy about it. He was always bragging that he was the best psychoanalyst in their city. Maybe he could explain that wild dream.

She let out a groan, turning her back to the alarm clock and pulling the covers tighter around her. Sleep quickly overtook her fatigued and still half-conscious mind, allowing her to slide back into an easy, untroubled sleep… but not before she heard the distinct sound of a lone wolf howl through her half-open window.


	2. Strike One

The cover of the trees instantly relieved the mounting tension that had been building in his gut from the moment that light popped on in the house, the darkness that now shrouded his twisted behemoth body calming his whirling head. That had been a bad idea. He knew it. But why didn't the others understand that he needed moments like that to keep him sane? The elders had had plenty of time to grow accustomed to the demon that was in them, but he had just awakened. He still had trouble grasping this enormous power that now rushed through his veins. Any moment that made him feel a little more normal, a little more free from the real world, he was gonna take regardless of the repercussions later.

The slash on his shoulder still stung and smarted as he planted his haunches to a rotten old stump, nose touching the torn skin with a slight whimper. That had been rough. Maybe not unnecessary and definitely self-induced, but it still hurt all the same.

Another large figure came into view just ahead of him, the beast's solid brown fur shaking slightly in the strangled light that managed to work its way through the cover of the trees. His golden eyes, not unlike the ones that he was looking down at, were wide and feral, their amber depths like boiling pools of liquid gold among a forest of snarling chestnut. He let out a low growl, sinking down to lie in front of the one he had injured. "I apologize for swiping at your arm," he said, voice monotone and static as his nuzzle indicated the other's wound. "But you need to learn to control yourself better. These moments of reckless impulse are exactly what gets packs discovered and lynched. Do I need to remind you of what happened to—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the darker one snapped back, shifting his head to lick at the wound on his shoulder. "I know getting discovered will kill us all. Quit being such a hard ass and get off my case for a bit."

The elder of the two let out a low snarl. "Your insolence will be the downfall of us all, young one." He stood, looking down his muzzle at the other werewolf before turning on his paw and heading back toward the others in the park with a loud snort. The young werewolf merely shook his head as he watched the other go, amber eyes rolling heavenward. "Great Moon, does he have to suck the fun out of everything?" he asked himself as he stood, turning his back toward the other wolves that stood in a small clearing about twenty feet behind him. "I might as well go get this cleaned up," he muttered to himself, eyeing the wound on his shoulder wearily as he set himself down on all four paws. "There's no way I'm gonna get through work tomorrow with this as messy as it is."

And without another word to his packmates he took off through the trees, paws barely glancing against the dirt beneath them as he flew like a shadow specter between the trees. The icy night air rushed through his fur like it had before, his head picking up slightly to smell the crisp breeze as it flew by him. Within seconds all feelings of weariness and unease disappeared into the wind, leaving behind a wild sense of euphoria that sang in his veins like a demonic choir. His head began to spin wildly like before, the gnarled trees that rushed past him barely visible in the blur that was his surroundings.

The trees began to thin out after a while, pale orange bulbs barely visible through the clearing tree line in the distance. He slowed his pace to a quick jog as he approached the edge of the forest, eyes scanning the area carefully to see if there was anyone that might see him. There wasn't a soul to be found, human or otherwise. This was good. This area was vampire territory. There wouldn't be a lot he could do if one of those leeches were to decide to come out and play.

He stopped as his paws met smooth dirt, the light of the street lamps reaching toward him from his hiding spot on the edge of the darkness. He couldn't go any further like this. He'd have to change back so he could go home without being noticed. The beast closed its eyes, head bowling slightly as his arms began to quiver. He let out a whimper as he suddenly doubled over, the crunch of bones ringing in his ears like blasts of thunder, body rapidly shrinking and changing shape. The brindle fur that covered his body fell away, replaced by tanned skin and a head full of unruly chocolate-colored hair. The eyes that had once glowed amber had darkened to a honey brown, but retained a distinct feral glimmer in their depths. His limbs shortened to normal length and shape, claws retracting until they were fingernails again that instantly ran through the mess of hair on the top of his head. He let out a slight chuckle, straightening up to stretch his arms out with a loud yawn. The claw marks on his shoulder were clearly visible against his now bare skin; three angry red gashes ran from the top of his shoulder down his back to the base of his shoulderblade. He shifted the arm tenderly, testing out the now much more vulnerable skin and yelping as a fiery feeling rushed down his arm. This was gonna need stitches. He'd have to talk to Sakura before he went to work that day.

A low hiss came from a small shrub to his left, causing him to jump sideways in surprise as he was ripped from his thoughts. A long white snake slithered out from the bush, rising up to about his waist height as it peered up at him. The snake was about six feet long, with almost albino pale scales covering its long, slender form. The only thing that looked off about the creature was its eyes; they were a perfect crystal blue and seemed to quiver with barely suppressed mirth. The man let out a snort, folding his arms across his chest. "What's the matter, Ino?" he asked, dark eyes narrowing by a hair. "Can't stalk people properly in normal form, so you've taken to stalking your prey as a snake?"

The snake let out an indignant hiss, turning its head slightly as it lowered itself back to the ground. Within moments the snake had changed form as well; a woman now stood in front of him, long platinum hair hanging to her waist. A piece of bangs barely covered her cerulean eyes, which held the same emotion as those of the snake that she had just been. Her skin was pale, any touch of color it might have held washed away in the artificial light of the street lamps. She let out a light chuckle, perfect white teeth flashing in the orange light. "And just what makes you think I was stalking you, dog boy?" She retorted, taking a step forward with a hand on her hip. "I don't like the taste of flea medication, thank you very much."

This time, it was the werewolf's turn to let out an indignant look. "Hey, that was one time, and they were gone in a week!" he snapped back. "And I see the way you look at me. Don't act like you've never given me the eye before." Vampires. All the same. They manipulate anyone to get what they want, then dump the person on their head like nothing mattered. Greedy vermin, every last one of them.

Ino seemed to read the tension that flashed across the werewolf's face and stepped behind him, running her long fingernails across the back of his neck. The man flinched, goose bumps erupting all over his arms despite his best attempts to show no emotion. "I didn't come here to pick a fight with you," she said quietly, ignoring the tension that flashed through his body. "I'm here with a message from my father. Believe me; I hate your stench just as bad as you hate mine.

"We saw your little stunt, boy. And if you ever endanger the balance or come onto our territory line again…" She pressed her chest against his back, nails biting gently into the flesh where his neck met his shoulder. "We will not hesitate to eliminate you."

The woman stepped back, chuckling as she watched him raise a hand to where her nails had just dug into his neck. The skin hadn't broken, but it still hurt. What was it with people and attacking him for no good reason tonight? Everyone seemed to want to dig their claws into him. He turned around, shooting her a look of pure loathing. If that Yamanaka honcho wanted a piece of him, he could come get some. But this bitch had no right to lay a hand on him. Technically speaking he was on her land and was therefore under her laws, but still. That had been unnecessary.

The draculina flashed him one more perfect smile, the warmth of her expression not quite reaching her icy eyes, which remained empty and pitiless as they peered at the man before her. "See you around, Kiba," she said quietly, turning on her heel before sauntering off down the sidewalk.

He growled, not bothering to retort back. Best to just avoid a conflict where one wasn't necessary. And with him being as injured as he was, a scuffle with a vampire was definitely not something he needed. Turning back toward the street he rolled his eyes again, stepping into the light of the sidewalk. "Goddamn leeches," he murmured, heading off in the direction of the hospital.


End file.
